Better CPU or GPU in a gaming laptop?

jorge_medion

Honorable
Jan 20, 2018
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I am about to take my final decision as for a new gaming laptop. There is a fair amount of money in play but I am willing to spend it.

Would you rather invest more money in the cpu or the gpu? I noticed that at some point the cpu price increases significantly. The laptops I am interested in are the following:

MSI GE75 Raider 2021

  • Display: 17.3''
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H
  • RAM: 32 GB DDR4 2666 MHz
  • Hard Drive: 1 TB 5400 rpm + 512 GB SSD
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB DDR6
GIGABYTE Aero 17 KC

  • Display: 17.3''
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-10870H
  • RAM: 16 GB DDR4 3200 MHz
  • Hard Drive: 1 TB SSD
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 6 GB DDR6
The difference in prices is low, being the GIGABYTE more expensive but I am willing to pay the extra money to take the best decision. I marked the key specs in bold. As you can see, the MSI has apparently a better GPU than the GIGABYTE (as I researched, neither laptops have the max q versions, but I am not 100% sure) but the GIGABYTE has a better CPU.

Currently I own a Alienware 17 R3 from 2016, very briefly the specs are: Display 17.3'' , CPU i7-6700HQ (2.6 GHz to 3.5 GHz, 6 MB cache) , Hard Drive: 1 TB 7200 rpm , RAM: 16 GB DDR4 2133 MHz , GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M 3 GB DDR5. Is still a good computer and I want to keep it for a while, the problem is getting old and my hard drive is very slow on startups (and occassionally). I want to play mostly Total War games from Empire to Troy Total War if able if not I would be happy up to the game can run. In my current Alienware I play Empire, Napoleon, Shogun 2 very well, from Rome 2 to Attila struggles but not too much.

Hopefully you can help me to take the best decision, RTX 2070 sounds very appealing but i7-10870H sounds very good as well.
 
I am about to take my final decision as for a new gaming laptop. There is a fair amount of money in play but I am willing to spend it.

Would you rather invest more money in the cpu or the gpu? I noticed that at some point the cpu price increases significantly. The laptops I am interested in are the following:

MSI GE75 Raider 2021

  • Display: 17.3''
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H
  • RAM: 32 GB DDR4 2666 MHz
  • Hard Drive: 1 TB 5400 rpm + 512 GB SSD
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB DDR6
GIGABYTE Aero 17 KC

  • Display: 17.3''
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-10870H
  • RAM: 16 GB DDR4 3200 MHz
  • Hard Drive: 1 TB SSD
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 6 GB DDR6
The difference in prices is low, being the GIGABYTE more expensive but I am willing to pay the extra money to take the best decision. I marked the key specs in bold. As you can see, the MSI has apparently a better GPU than the GIGABYTE (as I researched, neither laptops have the max q versions, but I am not 100% sure) but the GIGABYTE has a better CPU.

Currently I own a Alienware 17 R3 from 2016, very briefly the specs are: Display 17.3'' , CPU i7-6700HQ (2.6 GHz to 3.5 GHz, 6 MB cache) , Hard Drive: 1 TB 7200 rpm , RAM: 16 GB DDR4 2133 MHz , GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M 3 GB DDR5. Is still a good computer and I want to keep it for a while, the problem is getting old and my hard drive is very slow on startups (and occassionally). I want to play mostly Total War games from Empire to Troy Total War if able if not I would be happy up to the game can run. In my current Alienware I play Empire, Napoleon, Shogun 2 very well, from Rome 2 to Attila struggles but not too much.

Hopefully you can help me to take the best decision, RTX 2070 sounds very appealing but i7-10870H sounds very good as well.
Don't buy brand spankin new.... It is the wors t option sorry it is promised to be super glitchy and have a 200% more chance of Buggin out then last gens model which will have had it's bugs mostly fixed from consumer complaints.
 

jorge_medion

Honorable
Jan 20, 2018
139
1
10,595
Don't buy brand spankin new.... It is the wors t option sorry it is promised to be super glitchy and have a 200% more chance of Buggin out then last gens model which will have had it's bugs mostly fixed from consumer complaints.

I don't have much idea, would be better to go for older models such as RTX 2060 or GTX 1070? In my country GTX 1070 laptops are more difficult to find, even more expensive and usually have older CPUs, mainly i7-7700HQ which is not really an improvement over my old Alienware 17 R3 from 2016 with i7-6700HQ
 
I see many complaints about gaming laptops not performing well.
Usually gaming while plugged in.
One common cause is thermal throttling.
Laptop coolers must, of necessity be small and light.
They are also relatively underpowered.

Look first to the cooling capabilities of each choice.
Faster graphics chips will also demand more power and run hotter.
It is not good to have a fast processor and graphics chip if you need to slow it down to keep from throtling.

Most games are limited more by graphics than the cpu.
From that point of view, favor the faster gpu.

The main difference between the I7-10750H and I7-10870H is the number of threads.
Namely 12 vs. 16.
Single thread performance is the same.
For better single thread performance, look to intel 11th gen like the i9-11900H
Single thread passmark rating is 3446 vs. 2819 for the I7-10870H
Unless you play multiplayer games with many participants, it is unlikely that you can make effective use of more than 6-8 threads.
 

jorge_medion

Honorable
Jan 20, 2018
139
1
10,595
I see many complaints about gaming laptops not performing well.
Usually gaming while plugged in.
One common cause is thermal throttling.
Laptop coolers must, of necessity be small and light.
They are also relatively underpowered.

Look first to the cooling capabilities of each choice.
Faster graphics chips will also demand more power and run hotter.
It is not good to have a fast processor and graphics chip if you need to slow it down to keep from throtling.

Most games are limited more by graphics than the cpu.
From that point of view, favor the faster gpu.

The main difference between the I7-10750H and I7-10870H is the number of threads.
Namely 12 vs. 16.
Single thread performance is the same.
For better single thread performance, look to intel 11th gen like the i9-11900H
Single thread passmark rating is 3446 vs. 2819 for the I7-10870H
Unless you play multiplayer games with many participants, it is unlikely that you can make effective use of more than 6-8 threads.

You are right but I don't have much idea about cooling solutions. So far I found these pics:

MSI GE75 Raider 2021

csm_MG_9814_24de72ff23.jpg


GIGABYTE Aero 17 KC

Gigabyte-Aero-17-2020-38.png


Later on I will read reviews of both laptops
 

jorge_medion

Honorable
Jan 20, 2018
139
1
10,595
I also found an interesting MSI laptop but is more expensive than MSI GE75 Raider and I would like to ask you if worths investing the extra money for more power (if applicable)

MSI GE75 Raider 2021

  • Display: 17.3''
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H
  • RAM: 32 GB DDR4 2666 MHz
  • Hard Drive: 1 TB 5400 rpm + 512 GB SSD
  • GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB DDR6

MSI GS75 Stealth 10SFS-611

  • Display: 17.3''
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-10875H
  • RAM: 32 GB DDR4 3200 MHz
  • Hard Drive: 512 GB SSD
  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX2070 Super Max-Q 8 GB DDR6